Panasonic to Build Solar Plant in Malaysia

The Japanese technology company yesterday announced it will build a $580 million solar cell plant in Malaysia, according to Reuters report. The company has been attracted overseas by a strong yen, which has made domestic production more costly. The numbers are quite impressive: the new plant will create 1,500 new jobs and increase by 50 per cent Panasonic’s solar output (to 900 MW). Production is slated to begin in December 2012. “With environmental awareness increasing globally and introduction of subsidy systems and Feed-in Tariff schemes in Japan as well as other countries, etc., the solar cell market is predicted to grow further”, the company said in a press statement. The company said the residential sector is its main target and it expects “robust demand” from it. Competition is fierce in the Japanese solar cell manufacturing sector. Other Japanese solar panel manufa...